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Thursday, May 21, 2009

U.S. Markets Wrap: Stocks, Dollar, Treasuries Fall; Gold Rises

No surprise here... maybe the only surprise there is how long it took for the US$ to start to fall.

May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks and Treasuries fell, and the dollar dropped to a four-month low on speculation the U.S. government’s credit worthiness is deteriorating.

U.S. stocks declined for a third day, extending a global slump, after jobless claims topped economists’ forecasts and Standard & Poor’s said the U.K. may lose its AAA credit rating.

“The markets are beginning to anticipate the possibility of” a downgrade to the U.S.’s top AAA credit rating, and it will “eventually” be lost, said Bill Gross, co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach, California, in a Bloomberg Television interview. “It’s certainly nothing that’s going to happen overnight.”

The dollar slid 0.9 percent to $1.3901 per euro at 4:02 p.m. in New York, from $1.3780 yesterday. It touched $1.3923, the weakest level since Jan. 5. The dollar fell 0.6 percent to 94.31 yen from 94.88 and reached 93.97, the lowest since March 19. The euro increased 0.3 percent to 131.93 yen from 130.77.

Gold rose to the highest price since March as the slump in global equity markets increased the appeal of precious metals as an alternative investment. Silver touched the highest since February.

Gold futures for June delivery gained $13.80, or 1.5 percent, to $951.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. Earlier, the price reached $951.80, the highest for a most-active contract since March 23. Bullion for immediate delivery in London jumped $16.19, or 1.7 percent, to $954.84 at 7:23 p.m.

Silver futures for July delivery climbed 16.5 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $14.445 an ounce in New York, after earlier touching $14.51, the highest since Feb. 24. The metal surged 28 percent this year, while gold is up 7.6 percent.

Oil Falls

Crude oil dropped from a six-month high after the Federal Reserve cut its forecast for the economy of the U.S., the world’s biggest energy-consuming country.

U.S. stocks erased gains in the final hour of trading yesterday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s April meeting predicted a deeper recession.



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